Conyers wants Haiti relief official demoted over diversity deficit

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) has called on Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton to demote the official coordinating Haiti relief efforts for
not having enough minority staffers.

The House Judiciary Committee Chairman sent a letter to Clinton
on Thursday after Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for
International Development, showed up at a meeting with the 42-member
Congressional Black Caucus without any African American staffers in tow.

{mosads}“I was alarmed and chagrined to learn that none of the
approximately dozen staff he brought with him were African American,” Conyers
wrote in the letter. “This is so serious an error in judgment that it warrants
his immediate demotion to a subordinate position at AID.”

Conyers is set to lead a congressional delegation to Haiti on
Friday, his first visit to the island country since a massive earthquake
destroyed much of the impoverished nation.

The State Department did not comment on the letter when
contacted for reaction.

In an interview with The Hill, Conyers explained that he didn’t ask for Shah’s ousting because he “doesn’t want him to lose his job working on Haiti, I just want him to get some diversity in there, that’s all.”

The lack of minority US AID staffers would “suggest there are no black people qualified to deal with Haiti,” Conyers explained. 

In the letter, Conyers expressed alarm that none of the “approximately dozen” staff members with Shah were African Americans.

He also said that minorities have long been under-represented in key State positions

Here is the text of the letter in full:

Dear Secretary Clinton:

Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
Member of Congress

This story was updated at 3:18 p.m.